Illuminating device



Aug. 16, 1932. R s KATZ 7 1,871,999

ILLUMINATING DEVICE Filed Feb. 13 1929 0 INVENTOR 4 A TTORNEYI Patented Aug. 16, 1932 iJNlTED STATES RUSSELL 'S; KATZ, F HAMILTON, OHIO ILLUMINATING DEVICE Application 'filed February :13, 1929. Serial No. 339,611.

This invention relates to the illumination or flood lighting of a building wall or other structure or objective area; i

One object of the invention is the provision of an illuminating device having provision for refract-ing the light from a light source in a constantly varying manner so that the area illuminated will have various areas of greater and lesser intensity of illumination and apparent motion of illumination will be produced.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a plurality of such illuminating olevices which are adapted to refract the light rays differently, and which illuminate a common area so that a plurality of motions of illumination are obtained.

Another object resides in the method of illluminating an area by reflecting and refractfraction being constantly varied to produce a pleasant apparent motion of he ill n ti Other objects and advantages of the invene tion will be apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawing, in whicli V v v v I Fig. 1 is acentral vertical section through an illuminating device embodying the present invention;

Fig. ,2 is a vertical section on the line 2,2 ofFig. 1, the light source however being in a raised position;

Fig. 3 is a schematic representation oft'he use of the present invention for the flood u lighting of a vertical wall, this figure disclosing a modified agitating means for the liq-c uid; and i Fig. 4: is a representation in plan, of a plus 49 rality of flood lightsilluminating a common area.

In accordance with the present invention rays of light from alight source are refracted or bent by a suitable light distorting medium in such a way as to cause traveling variations in the illumination of an objectilluminated or flood lighted, the practical effect of this being the apparent movement of shadows through the light field. As a result a variable lighting effect issecured upon the building the light from the light source, the re-;

ing' or illuminated area which is very attractive.

Referring to the drawing, in which a pre-' ferred form of apparatus is disclosed, a suitable housing 10,i s shown containing a high power light source 11, preferably an incandescent lamp or lamps. As shown, the lamp 11 is adjustably mounted in a frame 12 so that it may be properly related to a suitable A reflector 13 which is adapted to concentrate the light rays into approximately parallel beams. A series of concentric rings 14 of metal or the like is preferably provided in front of the lamp'll in the path of the light rays to lessen the stray light while permitting the parallel beams to pass unobstructedily. The adjustable frame 12, and the reflector 13 are preferably mounted on a bail 15 which is pivoted at 16, at its lower ends, to the sides of the housing 10.. Carried by the'side walls 17 of the housing are arcuate guides or tracks 18, formed concentrically to the axis 16 of the bail, these guides having slots 19 which receive the runners 20 provided on opposite sides of the top of the bail 15. The runners 20-, which may be in the form of bolts or thumb screws, may be set in any desired position along the guides 18 so that the light is directedat the desired angle.

Suitably supported uponthe bottom surface22 of the housing is' alight reflecting and refracting means against which the light from the source- 11 is directed and which serves to both reflect and refract the, light in its travel to the building wall, or other area to be illuminated. This light reflecting and refracting means, as shown, is in theform of a pan 23 containing a quantity of liquid 24, the pan having a light reflecting bottom surface 25 The reflector 25 may be a mirrored glass, or the bottom of the pan may be of plated copper so that ithas the property of effectively reflecting light. The liquid 24 in the pan may be water, glycerine, ethylene glycol, or any other suitable liquid having the desired transparency and that will not be affected by high or low temperatures. The arrangement is such that the light is directed from the source 11 towards the pan 23, the

light being reflected from the reflector surface 25, and the angle at which the light strikes the pan is such that the light will be reflected upwardly through the window 27, which is preferably transparent or colored glass or the like. As shown in Fig. 3 the light reflected from the pan may be directed against the wall 28 of a building, articles of a window display, or against any area to be illuminated or flood lighted, the light preferably striking the building or areaat an angle so that a comparatively large surface will be illuminated.

The surface of the liquid 24 in the pan is maintained continuously in motion when the" device is in use, so thatthe surface is uneven and light rays traveling from the source 11. to the area llluminated'will be variously bent or refracted by the uneven surface of the liquid. Such motion of the liquid surface has the effectof causing a continuously varying or changing illumination of the building, shadowed portions being produced in the illumination as the light rays are refracted by the high and low portions of the liquid sur-' face. Tiny waves moving along the surface of the liquid thus produce moving shadows separated by brighter areas- As shown in Fig.1 the liquid is agitated by a paddle 30 which is swung back and forth about its piv-;

otal support 31' by means of an electric motor 32 supported on the bottomsurface 22 of the housing and connected by suitable transmis Y sion mechanism 33 to the paddle 'Asan-aL ternative means for agitating the liquid a pump 35, see Fig.3, may be arranged to circulatewater or other liquid from the pan 23, returning the water to the pan in such a way as to maintainthesurface of the liquid in a constant. state of agitation. The motor 36 which drives the pump ispreferably energizedfrom the same source which supplies power to the lamp. 11, and the, same switch which connects the light source lltothe power supply may alsostart the motor,

- The pan 23 is preferably mounted on truns nions and adjusting standards 38 shown in the form of threaded bolts screwed through the bottom surface -2 2 of the housin g, thus providing means for leveling the pan, which,

as shown, is quite shallow. The pan merely rests upon the inner endsof the supporting bolts and the pan is thus readily removable for cleaning or replacement ofthe liquid.

- Preferably the entire housing 10 is carried by pedestal or standard l0 so as to revolve thereon about a vertical axis, thus enabling the light to be directed in any desired direction. i v I V V A The lower surface of thepan which reflects the light rays may be either flat or curved or of any desired irregular shape depending upon the breadth and character of beam del I sired. Preferably, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

L J i i the reflecting surface 25 is transversely I. and dark areas of illumination moving along the surfaceof the area lighted. This pro- -duces a" pleasant and attractive appearance and directs the attention of passers-by to the building illuminated reason of this motion which catches and holds the attention of-the people. The light may be either white light or,'if the illumination is to be colored, the light source 11 may be designed toproduce light of the desired color or the window 27 maybe of the desired color to produce the effect intended.

A plurality of flood lights of the character described may be used to illuminate a common area and produce still further variegated effects of illumination. Two such illuminating devices or flood lights may be arranged so that the motionor travel of the waves along the two liquid surfaces of the two devices move in different directions and thus the shaded areas caused by one illuminating device are broken up by themoving shaded areas of theother. A rapid movement of the liquidsurfaces may produce a beautiful effect similar to the shimmering ofheat waves. The light rays from two. different illuminating devices maybe of different col.ors,for ex-. ample one of the devices may produce orange light while the other produces green light. A very pleasing effect may. be produced by using slower moving or thicker liquid in one illuminating device than in the other, the pans ofthese illuminating devices being arranged to produce waves moving in different relative directions so that, for example, where glycerine is used in the pan of the illuminating device producing green light while water is used in the pan of another similar device producing'orange light, there will be comparatively slowly moving shadows and more brightly illuminated green areas superimposed on the more rapidly moving lighter and darker areas of orange. Such a system is represented in plan in Fig. 4, the illuminating device designated generally 43 having a pan 44 containing water which refracts the orange lightpassing from the light source to the building wall l5. The adjacent illuminating device 46 reflects and refracts green light from the surface of the glycerine in the pan 47, the two illuminating devices being directed upon the same area of the building. A great many different pleasing effects may obviously be produced by arranging a series 0f 'flood'lights for a building or other area and varying the motion of the shadows and the coloring on the common area illuminated.

While the method herein described, and the forms of apparatus for carrying this method into efiect, constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise meth 0d and forms of apparatus, and that changes may be made in either without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An illuminating device comprising a light source, a reflector, and a body of liquid positioned with respect to the reflector as to be interposed in the path of the light rays traveling from said source to the reflector and from the reflector to an object to be illuminated.

2. An illuminating device comprising a light source, a reflector, and a body of liquid positioned with respect to the reflector as to be interposed in the path of the light rays traveling from said source to the reflector and from the reflector to an object to be illuminated, and means for imparting variable refractive characteristics to the liquid.

3. An illuminating device for flood lighting the surface of an object comprising a light source and a distorting means having both substantial reflective and refractive properties and interposed in the path of the light rays from the light source, said distorting means being such as to refract the light in a continually variable manner, and means for agitating said distorting means.

signature. RUSSELL S. KATZ.

4. A flood light comprising a light source,

a pan having a reflective bottom adapted to reflect light from the light source to the object to be illuminated, a quantity of liquid in said pan, and means for agitating the liquid.

5. An illuminating device for flood lighting a stationary objective comprising a light source for directing light angularlydownwardly, a reflecting means interposed in the V path of the light rays from the light source for reflecting the light rays upwardly at an angle, a liquid distorting means interposed in the path of the light rays from the reflecting means, and controllable means for agitating the surface of the liquid.

6. An illuminating device for flood lighting the surface of an object comprising a housing, a light source pivotally supported in said housing, means for fixing said light source to direct the light rays in any selected angular direction with respect to the vertical and with respect to said housing, a distorting means having refractive properties interposed in the path of the light rays from the light source, said distorting means being such as to variably refract the light, and means for agitating said distorting means.

7 A flood light comprising a container, a 

